The present invention generally relates to animal watering systems and, more particularly, is concerned with an apparatus for dispensing water to animals in which the flow rate is adjustable from the nipple and, even more particularly, relates to such apparatusses which are especially suited for operation in sub-freezing temperatures.
The ability of a stockman to provide an ever present source of fresh water for consumption by his animals can be crucial to his entire operation. Not surprisingly, the demands placed upon a typical animal waterer in certain climates can be quite diverse. In the heat of summer, livestock usually require more water per animal per day than they do when the temperature plunges below 0.degree. F. in mid-winter. Today, animal waterers are expected to function and be adjustable to meet such divergent uses. Moreover, a plethora of other factors influence the amount of water needed by any particular animal of at any given time, such as the species, age, weight and health of the animal and in some cases the amount of water available to the animal can be a critical factor in the animals care. Therefore, it is quite desireable for a waterer to be easily adjustable, by the stockman yet not be subject to inadvertent disturbances arising by normal use.
One type of nipple waterers that is in present use is described and illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,391,225 issued to Jacob D. Sparks which is incorporated herein by this reference. The Sparks patent discloses a nipple waterer that employs a single unit linear type valve body with a valve stem having a cut away portion at its nipple end. While this system or variations of it have been used in the past, it does have numerous serious drawbacks. One major problem found therein and throughout the prior art is the adjustability of fluid flow rate. The flow rate in a Sparks type waterer can be disturbed by merely turning the valve stem and it in such designs the animal itself may inadvertently alter the flow rate in normal use. Other valves in use regulate the flow rate by interchangeable orifices or other internally adjusted valves. These are undesireable because the difficulty in making adjustments is often significant which can make cleaning or flushing of the waterer difficult. Another major problem replete in the prior art is the tendency for the waterers to freeze up in cold weather. The single unit valve body design in a Sparks type waterer allows for unwanted heat transfer to occur by providing an uninterrupted heat conduction path to exist from the relatively warm water source, to the colder nipple tip in the frigid air. During subfreezing temperatures heat will be conducted away from the narrow openings inside the valve where freezing commonly occurs. Another problem area with such a design is caused when a drop of water forms and freezes at the nipple tip of the valve stem and increases in size until it spans the gap to the bottom of the valve body. Freezing of such a situated water can also cause the waterer to fail to operate. By gradually building up, causing the trigger to be pressed upward until water is released.
Consequently, a need exists for improvements in nipple waterers which will result in:
(1) increased ease in making flow rate adjustments while concomitantly not increasing the likelihood of inadvertent alterations in flow rate by normal use;
(2) increased ease in cleaning or flushing the waterer; and,
(3) decrease the failures resulting from freeze ups in cold weather operation.